Random Musings - PART 1
Is it possible that the accuracy of our taste-buds is enhanced over time? Here's why I ask: Have you ever stood behind an elderly woman at the deli counter?
"Now...the maple-roasted turkey - exactly what kind of maple syrup is used in that?"
IMPLICATION: "I WILL be able to distinguish the quality and character of the syrup used!"
So, is this a superpower? Perhaps not, but there are some telling evidences that may lend credence to it. Here are three:
1) The diversification of a palette as one grows and matures (i.e. I hated broccoli as a kid and now I love it). Adults don't typically eat mashed carrots from Gerber foods.
2) At some point - usually post-college - the priority shifts from QUANTITY (i.e. heaps of inexpensive preservative-laden cuisines such as pizza, mac-n-cheese, and Ramen noodles) to QUALITY (i.e. pre-determined portions of fresh vegetables, fine cuts of meat, natural grains). "But doesn't this have much to do with one's life chapter and socioeconomic status," you ask. Yes. But I would contend that there are plenty of trust fund snobs, living in the condo that daddy bought for their undergrad, who are eating Totino's pizza rolls tonight.
3) Chefs - most are on the other side of middle age. There's no culinary Mozart - no renowned child prodigy of nutrition - no food critique that isn't capable of DRIVING to the opening of the latest, greatest eatery.
Of course the "taste of food" could simply be a value that increases over time :)
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